Twitter 'embarrasingly behind' on rape threats, Talitha Stone says

EXCLUSIVE: Twitter finally held a meeting with a Sydney woman who was subjected to rape threats from fans of US rapper, Tyler the Creator but she says it did not apologise for months of silence.

By Claire Porter Technology editor

NewsComAuOctober 16, 201310:42am

Tyler the Creator verbally abused Talitha at his Sydney concert, saying: "Fucking b***h, I wish she could hear me call her a b***h, too, f***king wh**e. Yeah, I got a sold-out show right now b***h. Hey this f***ing song is dedicated to you, you f***ing c***t."Source:Supplied

AFTER months of silence, senior executives at Twitter finally held a meeting with the young woman who was subjected to rape and murder threats on the social media platform.

Talitha Stone was subjected to horrific abuse by Twitter users after she questioned the violent and sexist content of the lyrics of US rapper, Tyler the Creator.

This morning Ms Stone won a rare audience with senior US Twitter executives Del Harvey, global head of trust and safety, and Colin Crowell, vice-president of public policy.

The executives apologised for the abuse Ms Stone endured on their platform and promised to roll out its "report abuse" button across all platforms by the end of September (it is currently only available on iPhones).

They also promised to simplify its abuse report form and said they would be sending US Twitter staff to Australia to discuss with law enforcement how to better manage cases of online threats and harrassment.

Ms Stone told news.com.au that she had "mixed feelings" about the meeting.

"They seem like they are genuine but they also seem really hopeless," she says.

"They apologised about my experience but not about their lack of or zero response."

Ms Stone reported the incident to Twitter months ago but received no reply from the company except for an automatically-generated email saying that her complaint did not violate its rules.

She also reported the incident to the NSW police who told her they were unable to take any action against the rapper.

executivesSource:Supplied

A spokesperson for Twitter told news.com.au that the Twitter Rules prohibit direct abuse and threats of violence and "we will take action on accounts reported to us that violate these rules and are working to improve the reporting process".

Ms Stone welcomed the meeting but said that Twitter seems to be playing catch up on the issue of online abuse.

"They are so far behind on this issue it is embarrasing for them."

"They're still acting too slowly to prioritise keeping women safe."

"Nothing they have promised will prevent people who make violent threats of rape and murder from using the platform.

"It's a good first step, but they need to invest far greater resources into this problem."

bSource:Supplied

The-24-year-old Sydney woman created a petition on Change.org challenging Twitter to take seriously users' complaints of harrassment after the rapper encouraged his social media fans to go after her.

Ms Stone told news.com.au that she planned to keep putting pressure on the social media platform to ensure that people are kept safe.

"If they can invest heavily in Australia to 'grow their market' and try to convince more people to use Twitter, they also have an obligation to prioritise tackling these issues to make it a safe place for women," she said.

Twitter has been contacted by news.com.au for comment but has yet to respond. Earlier this month Twitter UK's general manager Tony Wang apologised to women who were attacked on the social networking site calling the abuse "appalling and unacceptable".